EXTRA – XTRA Read All About It!

Here are some interesting stories I read today!  I love to read about various topics DAILY and I thought I would share!

RAW Vegan/ Vegan News Today

1. Tennis Star Venus Williams has decided to adopt a RAW VEGAN Diet!  Venus is hoping to manage her autoimmune disease issues with this latest change in her lifestyle. This is a phenominal answer to her problem.  Very PROACTIVE!
2. Larry Hagman has decided to embrace an all VEGAN diet to combat Cancer. I am really excited to see an 80 year old man make changes as well.  Change your diet.  Change your life.
3. Fiber rich vegan/vegetarian diet help your micro flora.  This is very much paying attention what goes in must come out!
4. 8 Ways to Detox! You can’t have a headline with the number 8 and me not mention it on this blog!
5. Food Trend Pioneer from cooked to RAW!

News of Vinegar, Oil & Spices

1. Check out the book titled “Extra Virginity” by Tom Mueller.  He talks about the History of Olive Oil and the best types to eat, cook, un-cook, or dip with!
2. In the winter blahs can be highlighted with spice! This is a nice article geared toward the positive side of spices!
3. Experiment to spice up your diet and your health! We know that spices help our health, but this article goes into some options that will lead you to more adventures in the kitchen!
4. Global Warming may be threatening the TRUFFLE industry in FRANCE!A Truly sad day it will be when there are NO MORE TRUFFLES….EVER!

Running Highlights

1. The Olympic Trials will be underway this weekend.  For any information about who will be there and what’s is happening with them head over to THIS website!
2. FOUR AWESOME WOMEN are Olympic hopefuls this weekend in Houston! You can read their stories HERE!
3. Pick up a copy of the latest issue of RUNNERS WORLD and read a wonderful article about MY FAVE – DESIREE DAVILA! Go Desi!(She will be there this weekend and I wish her the very best!)

~Taste the LOVE~ Love Love Here We Come!

Hello Longevity Seekers!

Monday proved to be a positive day! YEAH!!!

Opened the store as usual, however I did close early to CELEBRATE VALENTINES DAY in a Macrobiotic Culinary Style!!!

In a city that goes to bed A LOT earlier than… oh let’s say – San Francisco, NY and beyond; it is becoming increasingly easy to find VEGAN Tastings  and restaurants to enjoy after 9pm.

Definitely a positive thing!!!

The Vegan movement in Los Angeles is GROWING!! I am happy to see the youth embracing a kinder way of  living and MUCH HEALTHIER EATING HABITS!  The youth of today will take on the responsibilities of the next generations to come. So, the healthier they are – THE MORE MINDFUL THEY WILL BE! (At least I hope…:))

Closed the store at 8:00 and headed to a Vegan Macrobiotic Tasting held at a restaurant named Shojin.  You can read about our other culinary delights from Shojin HERE.

Little Tokyo is just a hop skip and a jump from our shop.  There were so many choices for A VEGAN Valentines Day Food Feast.  My taste tester and I decided to pick Shojin since it is SO CLOSE to the store and we LOVED our Thanksgiving Tasting Menu!

This restaurant is a wonderful addition to the culinary delights located in the City of Los Angeles!  If you are local try this restaurant!  If you aren’t – the next time you happen to find yourself in Los Angeles – TRY SHOJIN!

We arrived a little early and enjoyed the solitude of the mini mall.

As we waited, we talked about some new goals we have as a couple, some changes we would like to make concerning our lifestyle, and some great ideas about our next Vegan function!

Although we waited 10-15 minutes to be seated – it was nice to sit and relax and just take in the calmness of the vibrations!

We were seated and the ambiance was absolutely DELIGHTFUL!!!  The staff was so kind!

APPETIZER

Crispy Pink Maitake Mushroom & Bruschetta served with onion crisps

Roasted Cauliflower with Green Pesto

Sweet Balsamic Marinated Orange Pepper &

Dried fruits with creamy cashew sauce

SOUP

Leek  Consomme

Look at how beautiful this presentation is!

My taste tester and I couldn’t help but toast spoons!

SALAD

Love Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

My Love Salad…

My Taste Testers Love Salad…

ENTREES

Savory Vegetable pie with Pink Velvet Sauce

Lemony Winter Greens

Penne Pomodoro

While we waited for dessert to be served I took the opportunity to snap this picture!

DESSERT

Raspberry Chocolate Cake

The food was EXCELLENT!  Great place to share with the one you love!

Before we left the staff gave us a Valentines Day Balloon and 3 Great Smiles!!!

Thanks Shojin for a WONDERFUL EVENING!!!

Wednesday’s Musings…

Vegan – Vegetarian – Raw Food…

Yoga…

Running…

Racing…

This is what defines the Veg888 Blog.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading this blog and opening your mind to a different PATH TO LIFE.

It is important to have your mind and energy channels open to change, love and light!  SMILE when possible, EAT HEALTHY as much as possible and seek knowledge DAILY…

Which brings me to a few interesting stories I have come across in the blogosphere/internet news travels…

1) Lululemon Athletica Inc. reached an all time HIGH yesterday in the financial world! Their stock ended the day at $72.85 per share!  What a business the Yoga world has become.  Although a high priced clothing store – their advertisement strategies and sponsorships will keep them going! I won’t sight any links specifically, but if you do a general NEWS SEARCH you will see what I am talking about.  (MANY MARKET ANALYSTS WERE WRONG ABOUT THE POTENTIAL GROWTH FROM OCTOBER TO THE CURRENT DAY!!!)  Is it safe to guess MANY OF THEM have never been to a Yoga class???

2) Vegetarian Times will be raising their RATE BASE twice in 2011.  It is currently at a 250,000 rate base.  It will jump to 275,000 rate base this month and be at 300,000 rate base by September 2011.  Why the change?  ”Brisk newsstand and subscription sales, says the publisher, triggered the increase..” They also said “ The publisher attributes a strong vegetarian market, with a growing awareness of the diet and lifestyle contributing to a 15 percent ad page increase over the last two years.” Do you order this magazine?  I think it is a positive step that society is opening their eyes to this wonderful way of life! What do you think?

3) According to the Washington Post a Vegan Diet is becoming more MAINSTREAM! Read that article HERE!  YEAH!

Don't represent VegParadise...Liked the Graphic!

4)HERE is a list of FILMS ABOUT THE “FOOD CHAIN” and why we should be more health conscious and turn to a Vegan Diet.  Personally I enjoy films about food and the wonderful results it can have on a sick/diseased body (RAW for 30 Days, Food Matters, SUPERCHARGE ME) but I felt you may find this list interesting.  I haven’t been able to get passed the first 15-20 minutes of “The Cove” or “Earthlings”, but that’s just me.  It hurts my heart.  What about you?  Have you seen these films?  What did you think?

5) Raw Food – On the Raw food news front – Matthew Kinney @ 105 Degrees Restaurant will be adding organic cooked foods to the restaurants menu.  Although they will continue to serve RAW food, the necessary addition of COOKED FOOD does not surprise me. Let’s just hope that DOES NOT INCLUDE MEAT!  - In other news – HERE is an article regarding the treatment of IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome) with RAW ORGANIC FRUITS & VEGETABLES!

6) HERE is an article about fuel and recovery with Natural food.  Although not an article on running, it is an article to take note of regarding various insights on nutrition + sport = great time, experience and healing for the body!

And in the Veg888 Kitchen…

The buckwheat had begun to sprout!  Rejuvelac here I come – AGAIN! YES!!! I must admit that I can feel a difference without my beloved REJUVELAC!!!

Thanks for reading!

Love and Light!

Namaste!

Sundaze Adventure – Both Musical and Culinary

Yesterday we went to go see Reggae Music in Long Beach, California.  Every year there is a Reggae Festival dedicated to Bob Marley.  It had been a few years since I had been to the Festival.  However, when I saw the line up I knew I HAD TO BE THERE!

This year was the first time an artisit by the name of ALBOROSIE was going to perform in the USA!  He is originally from the Island of Sicily and then migrated to the Island of Jamaica!  I first heard Alborosie on the Green Sleeves One Drop Anthem 2007 – CD/DVD.  It took 3 years to get him here in California!!!

He definitly took command of the stage and the audience.  It’s unfortunate most of the people didn’t know who he was prior to this.   He seemed a little surprised about that small matter, but nonetheless he was GREAT!  100% of his musical energy went into his performance!  The back up singers were really good as well!

I love it when performers are excited about performing.  There isn’t anything worse than a performer who is obviously bored!!

As they say in Reggae music – BIG UP ALBOROSIE!

This was also a nice addition to my day.  Each year I see more and more vegetarian/vegan options on menus.  However, this year there was a completly VEGAN place at the festival!!! Yeah!  Vegan Veggie Patty, Fresh Cocout Milk  (coconut and straw), (that was my RAW choice for the day!), Island Soup, and a few other choices! You can see their web page here!

Overall I had a really good time.  It was nice to relax and meditate to great live music.  (Psst…and look @ a sexy man!

Bacons Fake!

Whew! This week flew by!

As happy as I was that Friday had arrived, I had no idea what to prepare for dinner.  I kept thinking of a sandwich!  I rather enjoy a good sandwhich!  So does my favorite fellow foodie, James.   Which is always nice when your signifigant other is able to enjoy wondorous delights for the mouth along with you!

He is officially my own private veg888 Taste Taster.  Luckily he will eat absolutly anything!  No matter what!  He loves vegetables!  He’s actually a pretty good eater.  Anyway, before I digress…

I opened the fridge to see what kind of sandwich would come to life.  I had bread, some red leaf lettuce, tomatoes and an avocado that desperately needed to eaten.  I also saw a package of tempeh I have been wanting to get to!

I discovered tempeh one summer when a client wanted a stir fry made with broccoli, red peppers and tempeh.  It was absolutly delicious.  It was the first time I had tried it.  Although I had been a vegetarian for 7 years at the time, I was afraid of it until then.  I was able to get a block of tempeh with sea vegetables which added to the richness in taste.

Tempeh is a fermented food made by the controlled fermentation of cooked soybeans with a Rhizopus mold (tempeh starter). The tempeh fermentation by the Rhizopus mold binds the soybeans into a compact white cake. Tempeh has been a favorite food and staple source of protein in Indonesia for several hundred years.

But tempeh is now rapidly becoming more popular all over the world as people look for ways to increase their intake of soybeans and isoflavones.   Discover tempeh’s versatility and delicious taste.  Vegetarians and vegans find the structure and protein content interesting. Tempeh has a firm texture and a nutty mushroom flavour. Tempeh can be used in different ways. Normally tempeh is sliced and fried until the surface is crisp and golden brown or tempeh can be used as ingredient in soups, spreads, salads and sandwiches.   (Which is how I was about to use it!)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/3 block (76.0 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 180 Calories from Fat 72

Saturated Fat 1.0g 5%

Sodium 10mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 12.0g 4%

Dietary Fiber 7.0g 28%

Protein 16.0g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 6% • Iron 10%

I thought I would make a sort of “Mock Bacon” for the sandwiches last night.  A sort of ABLT (Avocado Bacon Lettuce and Tomato) veg888 stylie!

MOCK BACON – THE ULTIMATE FACON

Marination Occuring!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Baking Time: 30 Minutes

1/2 block of plain tempeh

Marinade:

2 T Agave Syrup

2 T Olive Oil

1 T Onion Powder

1 T Garlic Powder

1 T Paprika

1 T Vegan Ketchup

1 tbl Cumin

1/4 tsp sage

1 T Water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add all ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl.  Mix together with a whisk.  This is your marinade!  Slice the tempeh very thin.  It is up to you which direction you cut the tempeh block.  (You will only use 1/2 of the block.  If you would like to use the entire block, double the recipe.)  Use a glass baking dish.  After you have sliced the tempeh, place slices of tempeh in the dish.  Pour your marinade over the tempeh.  Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn tempeh slices over and bake for another 15 minutes.

HOT out of the Oven!

This is how it should look out of the oven.  The facon slices always remind me of that Sizzle Lean product I used to see in the store when I was little.  However this is much healthier and much more delicious!

Ready to eat !

And here we have the ABLT ready to eat!

I hope you will try this recipe and enjoy it! Email with other recipes you have used or with pics from this one!

Namaste!

What do I eat when I am out and about?

Entering the transitional menu is probably the easiest.  The transitional menu does not require you to be so strict that it completly rids you of certain options.

Once you have turned to a Vegan diet, a raw diet, or an Ital Diet options become a bit more difficult, but completely do able.

Examples

Mexican – Beans, rice, quesadillas, gucamole, tortillas, salsa, salads, Vegetarian Burritos or Tacos.  (Some restaurants carry Soy products but most don’t! – Make sure to ask if they use animal lard (monteca) or oil. If the restaurant uses monteca there really isn’t anything you could eat there.  Your best bet is another restaurant.

Italian- All the pastas, no meat pizzas, and mozzarella/tomato/basil plates.  Make sure the sauces have no meat, and inquire if the marinara has chicken broth.

Any Asiatic Themed Food – Chinese, Indian, Thai, Vietnemese, etc.  Most of these restaurants already are familiar with a vegetarian menu.  In fact there is usually a specific place on the menus for vegetables/vegetarian menu.  There are options with or without fish sauce.  There are also many oyster sauce additions when it comes to Thai food as well.  Since religious sects are the reason for tofu options on the menu, I would suggest telling the waitress you are a vegetarian.  They usually are quite understanding of this notation and they will be more than happy to make note of it to the cook.

American Cuisine – Grilled Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Salad, Veggie Burgers

Once you make the decision to make changes to your diet it will become easier and easier each day.  Intially you will have some obstacles.  Just don’t give up.  Everything takes time.  When I initially made the transition myself it was easy since I had such a fabulous support group.   If you don’t like cooking, google your self to all the vegetarian/vegan type of restaurants in your area.  Become a food critic.  Keep a diary and become involved in your diet.  It is supposed to be an enjoyable experience.  Be thankful and kind. You are doing the best possible thing you can for yourself!!

If there are any instances where you would like to eat meat or any meat derived product then I would say you might as well.  This is not to be a punishment or anything like that.   This simply means you truly have not made a true commitment to do so.

Commit.  Find the power you have within you and I know you will see and experieince glorious things in your life.

Chapter 4 – Recipe for Disaster

This is the most popular “recipe” people like to make when beginning middle to late age.

Serves 2+

Ingredients:

3 large cups of 11th hour

2 cups of inexperience

1/4 cup bad health

1/4 cup fear

1/2 cup wishful thinking/ideal thoughts

1/2 cup  ego

1 tsp ingnorance

Process all of the ingredients in one or two brains.  You will have enough disater to meet you head on.

This recipe serves two or more.  It is enough to lose the battle of your illness and literally your life.

Explantation

This is what I am continually finding.

Whenever I receive a call from a prospective client it is usually the same situation.  I would like to drop weight, eat a better diet since my doctor told me to and I would like to try a vegetarian diet, I am trying to make some changes in my life.

This is how the recipe for disaster begins.

When I am intaking a new client there are a series of questions I ask for some serious reasons.

1) Why are you needing these services?

2) Do you eat meat regularly?

3) Do you have any aversions to any type of vegetable or fruit?

4) What is your current health condition?

5) Are you contacting me, because you were told you have to make a change?

All of these questions will guide me how to best help the person.  For those that are only doing it beacause they have to it is a HUGE job.  A job that can only be completed by 80% of positive and open mindedness of the client.  Anything else just will not work.  Making this change has to be beacause you want to.  Not beacuse you have to.  Anything that is done with this psyche will fail.  The change is monumentus if you are a regular SAD eater. (Standard American Diet)

However, if you look at this as a direct manifestation of what you have been doing in life and it is time for a change then success will be reached.

Getting Bored! Overwhelmed?

Chapter 3

So.  For those of you out there in California – Los Angeles to be specific, you are in luck!  For cooking classes, Recipes, Advice and plain out acceptance and love ~ Contact Me! I will be happy to help you if I can!

For those of you who are not in Los Angeles, my advice to you is start looking anywhere you can to find delicious recipes.  I always found it interesting to “Veganize” a recipe.  My latest endeavor is to “Raw-ize” recipes.  I was looking at my monthly Bon Apetit mag this weekend.  This was an obsession for the last 2 years. Veganizing recipes from the Gourmet & Bon Apetit mags.  Soy meat helps at times.  This is an example on what you can do to get ideas.  For those of you who aren’t in the habit of cooking – find a cook to deliver organic meals to your door.  I only offer this service to those in the Los Angeles County~for now.  I have to wait unitl My Beloved tells me what my next step is.  For now, it is to help all of you make a change in your life.  Whatever we put in our temple should be healthy and delicious!

Depending on where you are and what you feel comfortable with:

1)Try Craiglist,2) Green People or search for other websites that offer local health concious services.

Your local health food store should be your primary resource.  Try to find a small business rather that a corporate health food store.  (That is just me being me.  Remembering to support the small biz owner) Health food store will have lots of information for you.  Most of the health food stores I have been to have food prepared on the spot.  Maybe frequent this place for awhile and try eating their meals.  Some meals can be expensive, others can be a reasonably good deal.  Just check it out.  Feel the energy!  Once you make this change in your life, the energy of healing and love will follow you.  Just be open to it and there will be some beautiful things that arise!

If you have a signifigent other who is less than thrilled about this latest change in your life then check it out – YOU ARE MAKING THIS CHANGE FOR YOU! NO ONE ELSE!  Attempt to involve them.  Don’t however try to change them.  They won’t make the change for the proper reason and eventually there will be a problem.  If you are cooking, share the meal.  Make it an enjoyable experience.  Maybe use the opportunity to really make the evening nice.  Deck out the table, get a nice wine to pair with the meal, etc.

Chapter 2 – Don’t Be Afraid!

What if I don’t have support?  What if someone makes fun of me?  What am I going to eat? Am I going to be hungry all of the time?

Intitially you will have a lot of questions.  That is normal.  Not knowing what is out there.  Not knowing what to make.  These are all something everyone goes through.  At the time I made my transition from a meat based diet I was lucky enough to have a few people in my life that were a great support group.  Although from all different walks of life, they were still in my life on a daily basis.  I was 19 years old and ready to take on the world~or so I thought!

So the first thing you want to do is look at your list.  Is the list comprised of ingredients over dishes?  or Vice versa? How do you feel about vegetables?

Once you answer these questions you can dictate what direction this path is going to lead you.

There are many avenues you can take.  Extreme or not – you have options.  I personally made a list of all my favorite dishes.  At the time I wasn’t as open to certain vegetables or ingredients.  I was pretty narrow minded.

I put my list in the kitchen.  I thought about the different ingredients they all had in them.  What they tasted like and what they included.  I began to notice that many of the ingredients were easy to change.

Example: My list comprised of Fajitas, Lasagna, Chow Mein, Hot Dogs with Chili Beans, Cheeseburgers, Pizza, Quesadillas with Chicken and Green Chilies, Enchiladas.  So I set about making all the vegetarian options of these dishes.  I figured I had to get used to working with different ingredients for this purpose.  The most obvious was soy meat, TVP, and a product by a company names Quorn.

The soy meat products were:

1)Morning Start Products

2) TVP – (Textured Vegetable Protein)

3) Quorn – Mushroom based meat alternative.

Yes.  Meat Alternative.  That is what these are essentially.  I always have these options on my different menus for the month.  Not everyone is on the Intermediate, Advanced, and Raw diet all at once.  It is a step.  Then another step.  It will take some time, but with the help of this information you will be successful in reaching your goal.  You can also email me or comment on any of the blogs and I will be happy to respond.

Note to you 6 months to a year later:  You will need to push yourself a bit harder.  You will need to further your diet beyond soy products of any kind.  All of the processed soy can be hard for the digestion.  Of course it is better than any meat product, it is still a good idea to graduate to the next level.  That is not to say that you shouldn’t ever eat it or drop it completly; it’s just time to step it up!

Introduction to being a Beginner – Intermediate – Advanced – Raw & Chapter 1

Introduction

Beginner ~ Intermediate ~ Advanced ~ Raw

Listed above are the most obvious steps to change the structure of your diet.

Becoming a vegetarian first and formost must be a solid decision YOU make.  Although it may seem difficult at times and uncomprehensible – it is POSSIBLE.  Many times in our lives we think that there are certain impossibilities.  I am a firm believer in the impossible.  The only thing standing in your way is yourself.  Is your mind open?  Is your heart dedicated to the task at hand?  Remeber, everything takes time.  Having a child, growing a plant, raising a pet, etc.  Anything that is alive takes time to flourish.  It is no different for you.

I could tell you all kinds of statistic regarding why you should become a vegetarian.  I could tell you the same for vegan and raw food.  But it is unrealistic for me to do that.  Make the decision to not eat meat based on your own findings and your own desire to love yourself and your temple.  Your soul is bound by your breathe.  As long as your breath flows throughout your body you are alive.  You have developed into the person you have become by experiences in life.  Some good – some bad.  They are all necessary.

I hope that you will love your body temple and keep it clean.  Part of that is the transition into a cleaner way of eating and living.

The first step to making the change is simple.  CUT OUT ALL MEAT!  As simple as that may seem, it is difficult for some.  Please remember your mind must make the change.  The desire to see this through must enter your sub-concious mind.  (More on that later!)

If the very idea of NO MEAT seems crazy, then I would say begin with 2 or 3 days a week.  If you are making the decision and would like to be a little more intense about your efforts, then I would say 4 – 5 days a week.

In addition to these steps I would encourage you to do a detox.  (Depending on your age).  There are several ways to do this.  Eiether by using a detox product or by fasting on juices.

If using a detox product, please make sure the product is ALL ORGANIC.  I support the Renew Life company.  I have a list of their products that are completly vegetarian and which ones are completly vegan.  Please email me if you would like to know what is what.  I sell the 7 day Rapid Cleanse Detox, Heavy Metal Cleanse, Para Gone Cleanse and many more to come.  Please email me if you are interested in purchasing any of these products.

Namaste

Chapter 1

What do I eat once I make the change?

First – Make a list of all your favorite foods.  Weather by country or ingredient.

Second – Figure out if there is an alternative vegetarian source for your old favorite!

For example: Growing up in our household Chorizo was a favorite every Saturday or Sunday.  My mother would make Chorizo and Eggs and wrap it in a tortilla for me.  She always had to change the meal for me somehow.  I didn;t like it if I saw too much food on the plate or if I focused on the way that it looked for too long.  I was pretty finicky!  But it makes me happy to think of those lazy mornings.  She was a great Mom.  She always made sure we were fed and clean.  She never let a day go by without hugging us at least 10 times ! (Love You Mom!)  Anyway, the company El Burrito makes a wonderful Chorizo product that is 100% vegetarian!  There are a few different products made by this company.  When I initially began my trek up the mountain of great health I started here.  I figured, well if I enjoy what I’m eating then it really won’t be that difficult? Right? RIGHT! (I will be posting recipes at a later date, they will be their own supplemental chapters.)

Third - Explore new territory!  Haven’t tried Indian food?  Haven’t tried Thai Food?  Get ready to try lots of different foods you may not have tried before!  Historicly there are many cultures who have a 100% vegetarian diet.  India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.  There are also various faiths who support a vegetarian diet – Buddhism, Hinduism, The Church of Latter Day Saints, Mormons, etc.

Fourth - Remember that no meat includes various products being cut out of your diet.  Why?  Beacuse there is no sense in not eating meat and then putting something in your body that has beef fat, pork fat, etc. You can find a list of these ingredieant and some examples of what they are in here.